


Of anger, grief, and trying again.

by samekimchis



Category: Pandora Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Decapitation mentions, Gen, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-28
Updated: 2014-09-28
Packaged: 2018-02-19 04:32:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2374673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samekimchis/pseuds/samekimchis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leo tries to make things right, Elliot refuses to mourn, and hope is the only lead they have. Panduella AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of anger, grief, and trying again.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ryoku](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryoku/gifts).



> part of an au i've been writing little drabbles for. if i'll take the time and translate the others, i do not know, but for now there's this at least. crossposted from tumblr.
> 
> aside of that, this is for @ryoku! she seemed to really enjoy this au during our skype talks, which is what eventually inspired me to translate this piece from spanish to english.

The sound of the clock was upsetting him so fast that he couldn’t order his thoughts, but a loud explosion somewhere in that false reality awakened him. It was only a matter of time until Elliot would be dragged to that dimension, Leo knew as much. A clash of steel against something he couldn’t quite remember alerted him of how close they were, and Leo knew it was his time to start acting.   
  
He readied his bombs, and jumped. This time he could save the remaining Nightray, no matter what. Afterall, his friend did the same (kind of) to him once, so returning the favor was only fair. Plus, it helped that the boy in glasses was fond of the blond, whether he confessed it or not was another story for another day. In a way, it was saddening that if he himself died, Elliot could have grieved him, but moved on. Leo couldn’t do that, he was too selfish, and somehow found a way to save Elliot.   
  
When he reached the ground, the grim reminder that he had never been good with weapons hit him. Out of the two, only Elliot had some knowledge on combat (and even then, Elliot’s swordmanship had never been perfect, though the blond always said it was his strong point). Sighing in defeat, Leo hoped for the best and threw the bomb at the witch Elliot had been fighting. It was always a different witch, he noticed; this time she had the body of a young woman, albeit deformed, but there was not a head to be seen. It could mean the witch was Vanessa, and the first failure in this timeline.   
  
Then again, almost all the Nightrays had lost their head and not in a psychological sense. They had really lost their heads; Vanessa was decapitated in front of her brother, if Leo recalled. So did Fred, and Claude, and Ernest— he didn’t really like dwelling on that. As far as he remembered, the older Nightray siblings never wanted him around Elliot, with reason though. Leo knew he had the soul of a witch (warlock? it didn’t matter, he’d bring despair anyway) inside, although Elliot apparently missed that little big detail. It was something he learned after the first five timelines or so, not that it mattered anymore.   
  
Before he could make his next move, Elliot noticed his presence in the field. His expression had been one of worry and anger, mostly anger. It was only natural, as far as the blond’s knowledge went, Leo didn’t knew a thing about being a magical boy and fighting against witches. Well, Elliot didn’t know either, because once he left the dimension of a witch, he’d forget about the experience. Maybe it was for the best, the experience itself was traumatizing and Elliot had enough tragedies in his life as it was.   
  
"What are you, of all people, doing _here_?!" the remark sounded more angry than he had expected, but Leo smiled nevertheless. His best friend never changed it seemed, no matter what timeline it was. Elliot sounded angry, yes, but soon enough he’d feel glad if everything went as he had planned.   
  
"Me? Oh, nothing much, I guess, just saving your ass from this witch." It wasn’t a lie, honestly. It just wasn’t the full truth.   
  
"Do I look like I need help, Leo?" Very much, yes, but he didn’t answer that and instead he grabbed Elliot’s arm, running to somewhere where they could talk. The witch could wait for all he cared. "You didn’t properly answer my other question, what are you doing here?" He didn’t sound as angry this time, but disappointment and, was that really sadness?, made their way into his voice.   
  
"I already told you, I’m here to save you from that witch. I am aware you can save yourself, young sir, but a little help wouldn’t hurt would it?" It was hard keeping down his voice when he only wanted to shout and yell at him how precious he was to him, but the dark-haired boy knew better than that.   
  
"…You’re right about that. I… I’m afraid you already know who the witch is." It didn’t matter how mature sometimes the blond Nightray was, Vanessa was still his sister and she was a witch. His voice didn’t exactly crack like it had done in other situations, but the pain could still be noticed.   
  
He sighed for the second time that evening and replied, “Yes, I do. I don’t really understand how that happened, though.” There, that was a complete lie and Leo knew it. Although he hadn’t been expected Vanessa to be the witch, he could understand why she lost herself and let her soul gem be filled with despair. “…I’m sorry, Elliot.”   
  
Sorry? Sorry for what? Leo couldn’t quite tell, but somehow he felt like it was his fault. If he had arrived to the timeline maybe just a few minutes before, Vanessa would _still be alive_ and maybe Elliot wouldn’t be close to losing himself too. Then again, what was done was done, so there wasn’t much point in blaming himself for something that couldn’t be fixed— unless he went back in time again, but his goal was Elliot, not the blond’s sister.   
  
While his companion wasn’t crying, his face looked like he probably wanted to. But more than sadness, Elliot showed anger in his face, as if Vanessa had done something wrong before she died. At this rate, the boy with glasses couldn’t tell at all what was going on, who said what, nor who did what, since all the timelines seemed to differ in something, but if the Nightray girl had done something questionable, then it would explain the anger in the youngest Nightray’s face.   
  
"It’s… it’s alright, I guess. It is not your fault anyway, so don’t think about blaming yourself. We had… not really an argument, it was just Vanessa trying to be a protective sister like she always did, but something went wrong and… I ended up here." At least he had his sword and knew how to use it, otherwise he’d be long gone. He had only used it on fencing lessons, never for self-defense, but somehow the extensive classes finally paid off.   
  
So far, everything was going smoothly. Elliot had been dragged to the witch’s dimension, Leo saved him, and both would fight the witch and go out victoriously. Eventually his best friend would forget about the experience, Oz would lose himself, and Alice would sacrifice herself. That would trigger Elliot’s memories of his experience fighting witches and the need to save everyone would arise. His death would come, and Leo would have to go back in time. No matter how many times he tried, the task of saving the blond seemed impossible, even when he wasn’t explicitly in danger.   
  
But it was Elliot, so he would do whatever it would take to save him. Afterall, wasn’t it a servant’s duty to protect their master? Leo had never failed in his duty, and wouldn’t start doing so. Maybe not as a servant, but as a friend and someone who was in love.


End file.
